Hope
by Kuromike
Summary: A little one-shot about Nagisa and Tomoya in front of the Furukawa bakery. "If you wish, I could take you to a place in this city where wishes come true..." Disclaimer: I do not own Clannad, or these annoying disclaimers...


He slowly stumbled to a stop when his muscles started to ache unbearably. Beads of sweat decorated his face and ran down the nape of his neck. He closed his eyes and waited for the frantic panting to die down. His hands were curled into fists, the un-trimmed nails digging into the tender flesh on the inside of his palm. He almost welcomed the pain, if it helps him drive out the burning anger slowly smoldering inside of him. He hated him. He hated him so much. He fought the urge to curse out loud as memory after memory resurfaced inside his head. The influx of emotions that ran wild inside his head was driving him insane. Hurt, sadness, anger, hate, confusion, hurt…Why? Why did he have to be so _horrible_? _Why _did he have to leave him all alone? If he lost one parent, why did he have to lose another? Why did he have to just step in and ruin his whole life? His hopes and dreams, his future, were gone with an angry flick of his fingers. He growled in frustration as a kicked a small pebble, watching it bounce away with a clatter into the gaping darkness.

Ever so slowly, his anger subsided leaving him worn out and tired. He winced as his nails pulled themselves out of his palm. He did not clench his fists hard enough to draw blood but it left tiny gouge marks onto his palms making their presence known with a painful throb.

He pulled his gaze upwards from where it rested on the ground. The red and white tent that shadows the front entrance of Furukawa bakery met his weary stare. He had unconsciously brought himself towards one of his classmate's house. Furukawa Nagisa, was it? The abnormally quite girl that stutters all the time; for someone who tries her best to stay in the background, it was strange for him to remember her name.

"If you wish…"

He whipped around. The quite whisper seemed to cut through the night air in the gloomy recesses of the small street. Her shoulder length, chocolate brown hair waltzed with the chilly breeze, blowing up her bangs, creating a rather angelic look to her innocent face. A dazzling beam of light illuminated her petite features, casting long shadows on the dusty concrete below. She extended one delicate hand and continued:

"Would you like me to take you?"

One eyebrow rose. His head was tipped slightly in a show of his confusion.

"Eh?" he questioned, but it came out as a breathless gasp. White petals danced around them playfully, riding on the gentle wind.

Her hands moved to clasp together just above her chest; her eyes fluttering close.

"To a place in this city, where wishes come true"

"Um…uh…"

He struggled to form coherent words. The breathtaking scene before his eyes was capturing all his attention. He settled for just staring, awestruck at the girl in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned him, not unkindly.

Her words jerked him from his spellbound trance.

"Um…"

He came up empty. He couldn't tell her he was falling out with his father. Not only that that was private family matters, he also couldn't run the risk of the school knowing. Luckily, she saved him from having to answer right away by continuing on.

"Did you forget something at my house?" she asked as she came closer, stopping a few meters from his place at the edge of the road.

"Um… ah, no, I-I was taking a w-walk" Ah… now he was stuttering. One hand rose to rub the back of his head in an apologetic gesture. What happened to the quietly confident, lazy delinquent at school?

"What were you doing?" he queried, quickly regaining his composure.

She blinked once before smiling adorably at him.

"Reciting the lines from a play" she answered, ignoring the fact that they were in the middle of an abandoned clearing, in the dead of the night. "It was a play I want to perform when the theatre club reforms"

He shrugs while smiling at her, "Oh, so those were the lines."

"I always practice here" she continued, "Since you were here, I had you watch my performance"

He silently slid his hands into the pockets of his school uniform. The tips of his fingers were going numb. He hadn't had the time to grab on a coat before dashing out of his house in his anger induced flight.

"So you're getting the theatre club back together?"

He was rewarded with another cute smile and a small nod, "yes, I don't know how much I can do but I'll give it my best". Her quiet determination clashed with her unconfident attitude at school. This had only served to further intrigue him.

"I see."

The stars twinkled merrily in the dark stretch of night sky. They glittered and sparkled in the sky, staring down kindly from the heavens.

He sighed at the happy sight. It seems like he had lost all hope of climbing out of the dark hole that was his life. He landed his eyes upon the girl in front of him again. Her brown eyes shone with happiness and innocence, determination and optimism.

Yeah, maybe there was still hope after all.

•••

**And… Cut! **

**This scene takes place somewhere near the ending of episode one and the beginning of episode two. When Tomoya had just finished visiting the Furukawa's and was in a fight when he came home to find his dad drunk on the floor. **

**Excuse the any grammar mistakes I may have made, I used the word processor, nothing else. My first fic, hope you enjoyed it. **

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